Help the "Nuclear Renaissance" Crumble

Dear Friends,

Here's a quick, handy action to GET YOUR NEW YEAR ON! and help the "nuclear renaissance" crumble!

BACKGROUND
Though Bush's fantasy "nuclear renaissance" appears to meltdown before our eyes as 19 of 27 announced new nuclear reactors are cancelled or tabled in favor of efficiency and alternatives, a few reactors are unfortunately still rockin' along in the second year of the new administration.

Notably, Southern Co.'s Vogtle reactors in Georgia and SCG&E's Summer reactors in South Carolina are first in line with hands out for TAXPAYER-FUNDED loan guarantees which are reported to be rolling out from U.S. Department of Energy very soon. Besides the obvious socialism involved with bailing out the faltering nuclear industry, the reactors proposed for both projects are the ill-fated Westinghouse AP1000 design, just sent back to the drawing board for at least one year for serious safety concerns by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Copy and paste the sample letter below, or write your own, but DO IT TODAY!!! Stop the Speeding Nuclear Bailout!!

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear Energy Secretary Chu,

I am writing you to ask that you stop immediate payouts from the ill-advised taxpayer-funded nuclear loan guarantee program, an out-of-step legacy from the Bush administration's fantasy "nuclear renaissance."

Two Westinghouse AP1000 reactor proposals, in Georgia and in South Carolina, are the only remaining hold-outs of the rush to announce new reactors in recent years. Most of the new reactors have been cancelled or tabled in the face of better alternatives and escalating financial risks for nuclear reactors.

The ongoing interest of South Carolina Gas & Electric to add reactors at Summer in South Carolina and of Southern Company to build reactors at Vogtle in Georgia is maintained solely by the unwholesome enticement of taxpayer-funded loan guarantees promised by the U.S. Department of Energy.

SCG&E and Southern Co. have both testified before their respective Public Service Commissions that they persist in pursuing nuclear power because they "don't want to lose their place in line at the DOE."

The unfinished and unlicensed AP1000 reactor design has been, as you are aware, sent back to the drawing board for deep revisions by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Dr. Chu, your work with renewable energy at DOE speaks for itself. Non-poisonous renewable energy sources are ready to free us from the security risks and environmental degradation of nuclear and coal.

I beg you to use the power of your office to protect U.S. taxpayers from bad investments in drawing-board nuclear reactors.